In my top picks for engineering management tools, I put in a good word for Lattice as a way to formalize 1:1s and keep track of career goals for ICs on your team. Some organizations may not have Lattice or the HR system is not used for 1:1 meeting notes, at the same time they use Google Docs and other tools in the Google suite. If that is the case, here is how you can set up a one-on-one meeting template in Google Docs.
Start by creating a new Google Doc, and name it “Template – 1:1 Notes”.
In the Google Doc, write a new heading, “Week of” and insert a date smart chip and set it to today’s date. Whenever creating a new heading, you can update the date chip to when the 1:1 meeting took place. In the text for the section, write out two lists for the “Topics” and the “Action Items”. It should look like this:
Week of May 1, 2026
Topics:
-
Action Items:
-For the topics, you can add recurring questions or topics.
Then you will select all of that text and create a custom building block by right-clicking on the content and clicking “Save as custom building block”. Give it a name such as “1:1 Notes”.
For each team member, save the template as a new copy, rename it to include the team member’s name, and share it with them. When it is time for the next meeting, insert the custom building block, updating the date to the date of the meeting. The action items can be assigned to you or the team member.
Organizing and archiving 1:1 meeting notes is simple. Use a tab in the Google Doc for each quarter or each year, and start a new tab when it is the start of the next quarter or a new year.
Getting Buy-in for Lattice
The Lattice tool has four packages, add-ons, and enterprise pricing. All of the subscription packages include:
- 1:1s notes
- Weekly Updates to ask the team questions every week and to gauge the sentiment of the team
- Feedback to share feedback with the team and with peers
- Q&A Boards for employee questions
To gain buy-in for Lattice, one idea is to buy enough Lattice seats for one team. Another idea is to buy it for a few teams or a department and select the package that includes 1:1s and has the immediately useful features, such as the “Engagement” package with pulse surveys and employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS). Depending on meeting cadence, this can be done for one month or one quarter in order to evaluate Lattice.